1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an ink jet printer, and, more particularly, to a method of performing dynamic printhead maintenance firing in an ink jet printer.
2. Description of the Related Art
An inkjet printer uses printhead spit maintenance, i.e., periodic maintenance firing for the printheads, to maintain the printhead ink jetting nozzles open or clear of debris during a print job. The periodic firing is designed for the printhead to fire into a fixed location at a predetermined time interval. Typically, all of the nozzles for the particular printhead are firing simultaneously regardless of previous usage.
In one such ink jet printer, for example, during printhead spit maintenance the printhead is moved by the carrier to the fixed location, and the carrier remains stationary, i.e., static, as the printhead fires into the fixed location. The fixed location may be, for example, an open waste ink reservoir, a waste ink collection surface, or a foam filled spit tower, positioned outside the print zone of the printer. Since the carrier must come to a complete stop using this static method, the carrier must be allowed to complete its deceleration ramps before stopping. To prevent the carrier from traveling past the fixed location, the printer width must be wide enough to accommodate the deceleration ramps. If the printhead is allowed to travel past the fixed location, then the carrier must move back to the correct position, and then reposition to accommodate the appropriate acceleration ramp for printing. Such extra moves slow down the time it takes to complete a print job.
What is needed in the art is a method to perform dynamic printhead maintenance firing in an ink jet printer, which accommodates maintenance firing at a fixed location without having to stop the motion of the carrier.